1.10: Date of the Mārkaṇḍeya-purāṇa

In the whole Purāṇic literature the Mārkaṇḍeya-purāṇa is one of the oldest work.^[1] This is probably one of the few Purāṇas which has retained much of the more ancient materials composed probably around 300 A.D. H. H. Wilson, F. E. Pargiter, R. C. Hazra and others consider that the Mārkaṇḍeya-purāṇa is of 7th century A.D. or even earlier to that. According to H. H. Wilson this Purāṇa is later than the Mahābhārata but it is anterior to the Brahmapurāṇa, Padmapurāṇa and Nāradīyapurāṇa and conjectures that it may be placed in the 9th or 10th century A.D.^[2] But F.E.Pargiter assigned three different periods to three layers of the Mārkaṇḍeya-purāṇa and also challenged the date of H.H.Wilson. According to him the latest part of the Mārkaṇḍeyapurāṇa, which contains chapters 78th to 90th, was certainly completed in the 9th century and very probably in the 5th or 6th century A.D. The third and fifth parts which contain chapters 42nd to 77th and chapters 91st to 133rd accordingly are considered to be of 3 rd century A.D. and even earlier to that. These two parts are considered to be the original Purāṇa. The first part containing chapters 1st to 9th and the second part bearing chapters 10th to 42nd, as Pargitar opines, are composed between these two periods.^[3]

Dr. R. C. Hazra remarkably agrees with F. E. Pargiter as he assigns chapters 12th to 15th and 25th to 32nd, except chapter 30th is of 3 rd century A.D. and chapter 30th to the latter half of the fifth century A.D. or even earlier.^[4] According to J.N.Farquer, the chapters 42nd to 77th; 91 st to 133 rd and 78th to 90th are between 200 A.D. to 500 A.D.^[5] M. A. Mahendale and Durgas hankar Shastri assign its date to be earlier than 7th century A.D.^[6] Accordingly, Dr. P.V. Kane also places the Mārkaṇḍeya-purāṇa in between 300 A.D. and 600 A.D.^[7] D. R. Bhandarkar also places the Mārkaṇḍeya-purāṇa long before 608 A.D.^[8] Again D. Debroy and B.Debroy fix the date of this Purāṇa as closer to 400 A.D. than to 1000 A.D. and even earlier date i.e. 300 A.D.^[9] Form the concept of Vyuha in the Viṣṇupurāṇa and the Dattātreya-worship which are datable to the 2nd century B.C. and not later than the 1 st century of the Christian Era respectively. The date of this Purāṇa may be placed in the beginning century.^[10]

Haraprasad Sastri found a copy of the Devīmāhātmya part in the royal library in Nepal which is dated 998 A.D. Here it may be safely inferred that this portion must have been composed before the 10th century A.D. Since it is the last part of the Purāṇa, so, the earlier part must have been composed earlier.^[11]

From all these considerations it seems fair to draw the following conclusion. The last part of this Purāṇa i.e. Devīmāhātmya was generally completed in the 9th century A.D. or earlier than that. The 3 rd and 5th part, which constitute the original part of the Purāṇa, were found probably in the 3 rd century or even earlier. The 1 st and 2nd part mostly composed between the 3rd to 9th centuries. From the above brief survey of the date of the Mārkaṇḍeyapurāṇa can be placed at the period of 7th century A.D. or even earlier in spite of the minor individual differences about the probable dates of the three different layers of the Mārkaṇḍeya-purāṇa.

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

M. Winternitz, A History of Indian Literature, Vol.I, p.559

[2]:

F. E. Pargiter, The Mārkaṇḍeyapurāṇa, Preface, p. XI

[3]:

Ibid., Introduction, p. XX

[4]:

R.C. Hazra, Studies in the Upapurāṇas, p.12-13

[5]:

J. N. Farquhar, An Outline of the Religious Literature of India, p.140,148,150,152

[6]:

R. C. Majumdar, A. D. Pusalkar, (ed.), The Classical Age, p. 299

[7]:

P. V. Kane, History of Dharmaśāstras, Vol. IV, chronological table, p.X

[8]:

D.R. Bhandarkar, article on “The date of the Mārkaṇḍeyapurāṇa”, JBBRAS, Vol.XXIII, p.73

[9]:

Bibek Debroy, The Mārkaṇḍeyapurāṇa, p.5

[10]:

P. V. Kane, History of Dharmaśāstra, Vol.II, p.726

[11]:

K. M. Banerjee, (ed), The Mārkaṇḍeya Purāṇa, Introduction, p. XXVII